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Villi  EFFECT  Of  EXPLOSIVE  MIXTURES 
UPON  IMPACT  SENSITIVITY 


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James  E,  Sinclair 


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I 


IB 


The  Effect 

of 

Explosive  Mixtures 

upon 
Impact  Sensitivity 


8854 

on  spine: 

SINCLAIR 
1956 

S536 

Letter  on  front  cover: 

E  EFFECT  CF  EXPL      MIXTUI 
UPCN  IMPACT  SENSITIVITY 

James  E.  Sinclc 


The  Effect 

of 

Explosive  Mixtures 

upon 
Impact  Sensitivity 

by 


James  E.  Sinclair 
Assistant  Professor  of  Chemistry 


Submitted  in  partial  fulfillment 
of  the  requirements 
for  the  degree  of 

MASTER  OF  SCIENCE 
IN 
CHEMISTRY 


United  States  Naval  Postgraduate  School 
Monterey,  California 

19  5  6 


Si 


This  work  is  accepted  as  fulfilling 

the  thesis  requirements  for  the  degree  of 

MASTER  OF  SCIENCE 

IN 

CHEMISTRY 


from  the 
United  States  Naval  Postgraduate  School 


PREFACE 

The  testing  of  explosives  has  always  contained  a  certain  element  of 
unreliability  which  is  due  to  their  natural  unpredictability.  This  has 
led  workers  in  the  laboratory  and  in  the  field  to  overdesign  from  the 
standpoints  of  both  desired  power  and  desired  sensitivity.  Overdesign 
has  in  most  cases  proven  practical  and  is  prevalent  throughout  the  entire 
industry. 

However  in  investigating  the  fundamental  properties  of  explosives, 
parameters  are  desired  that  are  as  exact  as  possible.  This  is  difficult 
in  a  medium  that  is  relatively  unpredictable  and  special  technique  must 
be  used  in  order  to  evaluate  the  results  of  explosive  tests. 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  show  one  method  by  which  impact 
sensitivity  may  be  used,  not  only  to  evaluate  a  particular  explosive  as 
to  methods  of  use,  storage,  and  handling,  but  also  to  explore  the  proper- 
ties that  affect  the  impact  sensitivity.  Therefore  an  explosive  system 
was  investigated  as  to  the  effect  of  varying  mixtures  of  two  components 
upon  the  impact  sensitivity.  The  method  used  in  this  report  is  largely 
the  result  of  collaboration  with  Mr.  William  Guy  and  R.  Eli  Besser  of 
the  Naval  Ordnance  Test  Station.  As  the  project  progressed  however, 
changes  were  made  in  the  apparatus  and  in  the  testing  procedure. 

The  writer  wishes  to  thank  Professor  Gilbert  F.  Kinney  who  suggested 
the  problem  originally  and  has  always  been  interested,  helpful  and 
encouraging. 


ii 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Item 

CERTIFICATE  OF  APPROVAL 

PREFACE 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

CHAPTER  I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
APPENDIX 


Title 


Introduction 
The  Apparatus 

Experimental  Procedure 

1.  Preparation  of  Samples 

2.  Testing  Procedure 

The  Statistical  Approach 
Experimental  Results 


Page 

i 

ii 

iii 

iv 

1 

4 

8 

13 
21 
29 
30 


iii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Figure  Title  Page 

1  Photograph  of  Impacter  5 

2  Diagram  of  Impacter  Assembly  7 

3  Chart  of  Run  No.  3  16 

4  Plot  of  Run  No.  3  16 

5  Chart  of  Run  No.   3  (No  assumed  points)  18 

6  Plot  of  Run  No.   3     (No  assumed  points)  18 

7  Probability  Plot  of  Run  No.  3  19 

8  Plot  of  Amount  versus  Sensitivity  of  TNB  22 

9  Plot  of  Amount  versus  Sensitivity  of  TNT  23 

10  Plot  of  TNB-Chalk  Mixtures  versus  Sensitivity  25 

11  Plot  of  TNT-Chalk  Mixtures  versus  Sensitivity  26 

12  Plot  of  TNB-TNT  Mixtures  versus  Sensitivity  27 

13  Photograph  of  Ro-Tap  Machine  31 

14  Photograph  of  Atlas  Powder  Measure  and  Fisher- 
Kendall  Mixer  32 

15  Chart  of  Run  No.  2  33 

16  Probability  Plot  of  Run  No. 2  34 

17  Chart  of  Run  No.  8  35 

18  Probability  Plot  of  Run  No.  8  36 

19  Sunmary  Chart  of  Project  37 


iv 


INTRODUCTION 

The  impact  sensitivity  of  an  explosive  is  usually  considered  today 
in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  earliest  experiments,  namely,  "The  explosive 
must  be  as  insensitive  as  possible  and  still  explode  when  and  where 
desired".  This  is  not  difficult  since  explosives  such  as  trinitrotoluene 
(TNT)  and  trinitrobenzene  (TNB)  are  available,  which  are  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  initiate  without  the  aid  of  an  explosive  train  or  blasting  cap  and 
yet  are  easily  "set  off"  with  these  aids. 

The  difficulty  encountered  in  using  explosives  is  that  a  certain 
number  of  explosions,  due  to  impact  alone,  occur  without  normal  cause. 
Many  examples  of  unusual  explosions  occurred  during  World  War  II.  In  one 
incident,  a  500  pound  bomb  loaded  with  TNT,  but  without  the  fuse  or  initia- 
tor attached,  was  dropped  approximately  one  foot  and  exploded.  Normally, 
one  would  expect  such  a  bomb  to  be  completely  insensitive  to  this  type  of 
shock.  In  fact,  many  similar  bombs  did  not  explode  even  with  fuses  and 
initiators,  when  dropped  in  bombing  raids.  This  property  of  explosives 
is  well  known  and  in  evaluating  impact  sensitivity,  one  must  take  this 
unreliability  into  account  since  it  exists  in  all  explosives  and  no  method 
has  been  found  to  eliminate  it . 

The  most  logical  approach  to  a  problem  of  this  kind  lies  in  the  realm 
of  statistics.  The  probability  of  an  explosion  occurring  under  strictly 
controlled  conditions  may  be  expressed  by  a  statistical  number  obtained 
by  a  large  sampling  of  data.  Under  these  conditions  the  pertinent  point 
is  not  where  the  explosion  occurs  all  the  time  or  where  it  never  occurs, 
but  at  some  selected  value,  say  fifty  percent  of  the  time.  This  concept 
provides  for  a  logical  comparison  of  different  impact  sensitivities. 

1 


Therefore,  if  a  machine  can  be  set  up  to  impact  successive  samples  of 
an  explosive,  with  an  infinite  number  of  varying  impacts,  over  an  infinite 
number  of  samples,  this  answer  would  be  forthcoming.  This  method  is  imprac- 
tical because  the  information  gained  is  not  proportional  to  the  effort 
expended. 

One  method  which  has  been  used  in  practice,  is  to  drop  a  weight  on  an 
explosive  sample  from  one  height  for  100  times.  This  is  repeated  at  dif- 
ferent heights  such  that  the  height  range  extends  from  the  height  at  which 
it  explodes  90$  of  the  time  to  that  at  which  it  explodes  10$  of  the  time. 
This  method  gives  good  results  in  that  it  reports  percent  explosion  as  a 
function  of  drop  height  and  reproduction  of  results  is  fairly  good.  The 
difficulty  in  the  above  method  is  that  it  is  long  and  tedious  and  because 
of  this  few  comparative  results  are  available. 

Another  and  more  practical  approach  to  the  problem  is  the  method  used 
at  the  Naval  Ordnance  Test  Station.  This  method,  which  was  similar  to  the 
"Bruceton"  method,  consists  of  a  series  of  tests,  perhaps  20,  in  which  the 
sequence  of  tests  is  carried  out  in  a  precise  manner.  Here,  a  weight  is 
dropped  upon  a  fixed  quantity  of  explosive  and  if  an  explosion  occurs, 
the  weight  is  dropped  from  a  height  a  fixed  distance  lower  for  the  next 
test.  If  there  is  no  explosion,  the  weight  is  dropped  from  a  height  the 
same  fixed  distance  higher  for  the  next  test.  Thus  the  impact  is  changed 
for  every  test  and  in  a  precise  and  organized  manner.  Statistical  methods 
are  used  to  interpret  the  test  results. 

The  "Naval  Ordnance  Test  Station"  method  also  specifies  the  handling 

of  variables,  such  as  the  ratio  of  hammer  weight  to  sample  weight  and  the 

nature  of  the  impacting  surfaces.  In  general,  this  method  seems  the  most 
practical  and  was  adopted  with  certain  modifications  for  this  investigation. 


Because  of  the  unreliability  of  impact  sensitivity  results,  few  investi- 
gations have  been  carried  out  on  anything  but  pure  explosives  and  melted 
mixtures  thereof.  Explosives  which  were  either  immiscible  or  not  practical 
to  melt  have  not  been  well  studied. 

Trinitrobenzene  (TNB)  and  trinitrotoluene  (TNT)  are  examples  of  explo- 
sives which  are  not  practical  to  melt  together  because,  although  their 
chemical  structures  are  very  similar,  differing  only  by  one  methyl  group, 
their  melting  points  and  other  properties  differ  considerably.  For  this 
investigation  it  was  necessary  to  mix  them  together  physically  to  study 
the  impact  sensitivity  of  various  mixtures.  It  is  hoped  that  these  results 
will  add  to  the  general  knowledge  of  explosives  and  perhaps  throw  some 
light  upon  the  problem  of  impact  sensitivity  testing. 


THE  APPARATUS 

An  impact  tester  is  essentially  a  machine  which  drops  a  fixed  weight 
through  a  fixed  distance.  The  important  consideration  is  the  production 
of  reproducible  impacts.  There  are  many  different  types:  some  drop  a  ball 
shaped  weight,  some  drop  a  weight  that  is  on  a  hinged  arm,  and  some  drop 
along  a  vertical  track.  The  machine  in  which  the  hammer  drops  along  a 
vertical  track  seems  to  be  the  mose  rugged  and  is  used  in  this  project. 

The  impacter  (See  Fig.  1)  is  a  steel  tower  with  a  geared  motor  at  the 
top  which  raises  and  lowers  a  carriage  containing  two  magnets.  One  magnet 
holds  the  impacter  hammer  so  that  there  is  no  mechanical  connection  to 
hinder  its  free  fall.  The  other  magnet  operates  a  pin  that  prevents  the 
hammer  from  falling  accidentally.  Since  the  hammer  weighs  2.2  kilograms 
(5  pounds)  and  can  fall  from  a  height  of  150  centimeters,  this  precaution 
is  necessary.  The  hammer  slides  on  lubricated  vertical  tracks  with  prac- 
tically no  friction.  Electrical  switches  are  operated  automatically  so 
that  the  hammer  rises  to  a  preset  height,  falls  and  is  picked  up  again  by 
the  throwing  of  one  switch.  The  sliding  hammer  falls  upon  a  steel  cylin- 
der known  as  a  "floating"  hanmer  and  weighs  approximately  85  grams.  The 
floating  hammer  rests  upon  the  explosive  being  tested.  The  explosive 
rests  upon  a  half  inch  square  of  special  garnet  paper  which  is  on  a  steel 
anvil.  The  assembly  is  contained  in  a  steel  cup  which* like  the  entire 
machine  is  removable.  The  cup  is  enclosed  by  a  steel  cylinder  called  the 
"nest".  The  "nest"  is  warmed  to  100°  F  by  brazed  copper  coils  fed  with 
water  from  a  thermally  regulated  both  in  the  base  of  the  impacter.  The 
cup  and  the  nest  contain  a  hole  in  their  respective  bottoms  through  which 


Fig.l  The  Impacter 
5 


an  externally  operated  plunger  can  raise  or  lower  the  anvil  to  load  and 
unload  the  charge.  (See  Fig.  2). 

The  advantages  of  the  confinement  of  the  explosive  in  the  steel  cup 
are:  (l)  Temperature  control  is  more  easily  achieved,  and  (2)  No  special 
safety  precautions  are  necessary  beyond  wearing  a  face  shield. 

The  amount  of  explosive  material  used  for  a  test  is  conveniently 
metered  by  means  of  a  commercial  powder  measure  which  is  mounted  near 
the  impacter.  Since  the  powder  measure  delivers  by  volume,  it  must  be 
calibrated  for  each  different  explosive  or  mixture.  The  measure  is 
designed  for  larger  volumes  than  needed  for  a  single  series  of  tests  so 
a  molded  polyethylene  plug  is  used  to  occupy  the  excess  volume. 

The  mixtures  of  explosives  are  prepared  by  grinding,  screening,  and 
dry  mixing.  For  the  grinding  operation,  a  standard  Ro-Tap  machine  was 
used.  The  particle  size  of  the  explosive  was  determined  by  standard 
"Tyler"  screens,  and  the  dry  mixing  was  done  by  a  "Fisher  Kendall"  mixer, 
(See  Appendix). 

With  the  exception  of  the  impacter,  all  equipment  used  was  standard 
laboratory  gear. 


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EXPERIMENTAL  PROCEDURE 

1.  Preparation  of  Samples 

I,  3,  5-trinitrobenzene  and  2,  A,  6- trinitrotoluene  were  obtained 
from  "Eastman  Organic  Chamicals".  Chalk,  prepared  powder  U3P,  was  obtained 
from  Eimer  and  Amend  Division  of  Fisher  Scientific  Company.  The  samples 
were  prepared  by  grinding  in  the  following  manner. 

The  pure  material  was  placed  on  a  number  70  "Tyler"  screen  with  five 
copper  discs  the  size  of  a  penny.  Underneath  was  a  number  120  screen 
also  containing  five  discs  and  beneath  that  a  number  140  screen  with  no 
discs.   The  bottom  of  the  screen  assembly  was  a  solid  or  "thru"  pan. 

The  screen  assembly  was  placed  in  the'Tto-Tap"  and  shaken  until  all 
the  material  had  passed  through  the  number  120  screen.  The  material  pass- 
ing through  the  number  140  screen  was  rejected.  Therefore  the  size  of 
the  particles  of  the  material  used  was  small  enough  to  pass  through  the 
120  screen  with  a  125  micron  opening  but  too  large  to  pass  through  the 
140  screen  with  a  105  micron  opening.  This  size  was  selected  because  of 
screening  convenience  and  also  for  ease  of  mixing  since  the  particles 
would  "flow"  easily  in  the  "tumbling"  operation  of  mixing. 

The  grinding  and  sizing  procedure  used  here  was  selected  after  other 
methods  had  been  tried.  The  use  of  either  a  ball  mill  or  mortar  and  pestle 
with  subsequent  screening  is  quite  dangerous  in  that  clouds  of  fine  dust 
are  raised  which  are  not  only  explosive  but  highly  toxic  both  internally 
and  externally.  In  addition,  a  considerable  static  charge  is  accumulated 
by  the  movement  of  the  explosive  in  non-metallic  media  so  that  a  sparking 
hazard  exists. 

8 


The  grinding  on  the  brass  and  copper  screens  in  the  "Ro-Tap"  still 
raised  dust  and  accumulated  a  static  charge  but  after  a  fexv  minutes  the 
dust  settled  and  the  charge  disappeared  due  to  the  conducting  nature  of 
the  apparatus.  In  this  manner,  the  finely  divided  material  was  handled 
the  minimum  number  of  times  both  safely  and  easily. 

In  tests  involving  the  pure  material  no  further  preparation  was  used. 
Whenever  it  was  desired  to  mix  materials,  the  powders  were  weighed  on  an 
analytical  balance  in  the  proper  proportion;  placed  in  vials  with  ground 
glass  stoppers  and  mixed  in  a  "Fisher  Kendall"  mixer.  The  action  involved 
is  a  continuous  rotation  of  the  container  with  a  simultaneous  rocking 
motion  through  an  angle  of  ninety  degrees,  which,  according  to  the  manu- 
facturer, should  give  a  uniform  distribution  in  five  minutes  mixing  time. 
Since  mixing  time  did  not  hinder  other  phases  of  the  project,  all  samples 
were  mixed  for  30  minutes  and  no  lack  of  uniformity  was  detected.  After 
mixing,  the  samples  were  allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours  to  allow 
them  to  discharge  any  accumulated  static  charge. 

2.  Testing  Procedure 

The  prepared  samples  were  placed  in  an  "Ideal"  powder  measure  which 
was  adjusted  to  "throw"  the  desired  amount  of  material.  The  measure  was 
adjusted  until  the  amount  thrown  was  within  plus  or  minus  one  milligram. 

The  measured  sample  fell  from  the  powder  measure  upon  the  rough  sur- 
face of  a  half  inch  square  of  180  grit,  5WD43  grade,  garnet  paper  manu- 
factured by  the  Carborumdum  Company,  in  a  rough  cone  shape.  The  garnet 
paper  containing  the  coned  material  was  placed  on  the  anvil  (See  Fig.  2), 
which  was  raised  from  the  cup  to  receive  it,  with  the  explosive  side 


upward.  The  anvil  containing  the  charge  was  lowered  into  the  cup  and  a 
strip  of  white  paper,  long  enough  to  go  all  the  way  around  the  cup  and 
approximately  one  half  inch  in  width,  was  placed  in  the  cup.  The  float- 
ing hammer  was  then  placed  in  the  cup. 

The  floating  hammer  pushed  the  paper  down  until  it  formed  a  ring 
around  the  cup,  one  half  inch  from  the  charge.  Another  action  of  the 
floating  hammer  was  to  flatten  the  charge  until  a  circle  approximately 
three  eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  was  formed.  The  size  of  the  circle 
was  reasonably  uniform  as  to  diameter  and  varied  with  the  size  of  the 
charge  in  thickness  only.  The  meter  stick  which  measured  the  drop  height 
was  adjusted  for  each  series  of  tests  because  the  thickness  of  the  sam- 
ple varied,  and  the  impacting  surfaces  were  ground  smooth  for  each  run 
of  approximately  25  individual  tests,  thereby  making  adjustment  necessary 
for  each  run. 

After  each  test,  the  floating  hammer  was  lifted  manually  and  the 
white  paper  examined.  If  the  charge  had  fired,  the  paper  was  blackened 
and  this  was  used  as  the  criterion  of  explosion.  This  technique  was 
found  to  be  necessary  as  other  indications  were  often  misleading.  At 
first  the  criterion  of  a  blackening  of  the  sandpaper  was  used.  When 
results  were  obtained  which  seemed  improbable,  sugar  was  substituted  for 
the  explosive.  The  sandpaper  was  blackened  by  the  sugar  when  impacted. 
Since  sugar  cannot  explode,  this  effect  necessitated  a  change  in  the 
method  of  detection. 

The  use  of  paper  to  detect  explosions  in  this  method  still  requires 
care  and  skill,  for  in  many  cases  bits  of  garnet  paper  are  pushed  through 
the  white  indicating  paper  which  is  subsequently  discolored  without  any 

10 


evidence  of  explosion.  Therefore  some  judgment  must  be  exercised  in  examin- 
ing the  paper. 

The  falling  hammer  is  dropped  automatically  from  pre-set  heights  on 
the  floating  hammer.  In  the  first  series  of  runs,  a  five  pound  falling 
hammer  was  used.  The  ratio  of  hammer  weight  to  sample  weight,  which  is 
two  kilograms  to  twenty  milligrams,  was  felt  to  be  inapplicable  here  since 
sample  weight  varied  from  six  to  sixty  milligrams.  In  subsequent  runs  the 
amount  of  charge  was  fixed  to  23  milligrams  so  that  the  falling  hammer  was 
adjusted  to  2.3  kilograms. 

Following  each  impact  or  test,  the  floating  hammer  is  lifted  from 
the  cup  and  placed  on  the  side  of  the  nest,  which  keeps  the  hammer  from 
cooling.  Then  the  paper  is  examined,  a  record  of  the  test  taken,  and 
the  height  for  the  next  impact  test  set.  The  anvil  is  raised  from  the 
cup,  but  not  removed,  scraped  with  a  scapel  and  blown  off  with  com- 
pressed air.  The  next  sample  is  placed  on  the  anvil,  dropped  down  in 
the  cup  and  the  indicating  paper  put  in  place.  Then  the  floating  ham- 
mer is  scraped,  blown  off  and  placed  in  the  cup.  This  order  of  proce- 
dure is  necessary  to  prevent  the  impacting  surfaces  of  the  anvil  and 
floating  hammer  from  cooling  off. 

After  each  run,  the  impacting  surfaces  of  the  anvil  and  floating 
hammer  are  sanded  smooth.  The  falling  hammer  is  checked  for  tightness, 
and  the  cup  assembly  washed  with  acetone  to  remove  any  unexploded 
material.  In  experiments  of  this  type,  a  certain  amount  of  unexploded 
material  accumulates  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  burn  daily  all  fragments 


11 


together  with  the   acetone  washings  to  avoid  any  excessive  build-up  of 
waste  explosive.     This  was  done  in  a  large  bucket  in  the  fume  hood  with 
no  difficulty. 


12 


THE  STATISTICAL  APPROACH 

In  testing  the  impact  sensitivity  of  an  explosive,  a  hammer  is 
dropped  from  a  certain  height  on  the  sample  under  precisely  controlled 
conditions.  If  no  explosion  occurs,  the  hammer  is  raised  a  definite 
distance  higher  and  the  test  repeated.  If  an  explosion  occurs,  the 
hammer  is  lowered  the  same  distance  and  the  test  repeated.  Normally 
this  procedure  is  continued  for  twenty-five  tests  and  the  results 
analyzed. 

This  procedure  assumes  that  the  detection  of  explosion  is  certain 
and  as  explained  previously  it  is  not  always  certain.  Even  with  the 
refinement  of  the  indicating  paper  detector,  some  results  are  doubtful. 
Other  uncertainties,  such  as  the  height  at  which  to  start  the  run,  how 
many  tests  to  make  for  one  run,  and  when  to  stop  a  run,  appear.  There- 
fore certain  arbitrary  rules  had  to  be  set  up  and  followed  to  make  the 
tests  meaningful. 

The  runs  were  all  made  under  the  following  rules: 

1.  Every  run  was  started  at  one  hundred  centimeters  for  the  first 
drop  height.  If  an  explosion  occurred,  the  drop  height  was  moved  down 
twenty  centimeters,  or  if  no  explosion  occurred  the  next  drop  height 
was  twenty  centimeters  higher.  This  procedure  was  followed  until  the 
pattern  changed.  For  example:   explosions  occurred  at  100,  80  and  60 
centimeters,  but  no  explosion  at  40.  The  next  test  would  be  at  45  centi- 
meters, and  the  recording  of  the  data  would  start.  On  the  other  hand, 
assume  no  explosion  occurred  at  100  and  120  centimeters,  but  an  explo- 
sion did  occur  at  140  centimeters.  The  next  test  would  be  at  135 

13 


centimeters  and  the  recording  would  start.  This  procedure  was  felt 
necessary  because  it  established  a  definite  method  by  which  the  explo- 
sive range  could  be  found.  When  runs  were  repeated,  this  same  technique 
w  s  followed  even  though  the  range  was  purportedly  known.  The  ranging 
shots  however  were  not  recorded,  because  since  they  were  all  performed 
in  the  same  manner,  the  results  could  be  obtained  if  necessary. 

2.  On  those  occasions,  when  it  is  difficult  to  judge  whether  or 
not  an  explosion  has  occurred,  the  decision  is  arbitrarily  made  that  the 
result  is  the  same  as  the  previous  test.  The  50  percent  point  of  the 
explosive  is  sought  in  these  tests  so  that  it  is  more  logical  to  inter- 
pret a  doubtful  point  in  a  manner  so  as  to  more  quickly  arrive  at  a  point 
of  definite  change.  If  a  doubtful  point,  follows  a  no  explosion  point, 
then  the  next  test  is  with  a  higher  drop  height  so  that  the  probability 
of  an  explosion  is  greater  for  this  test.  The  reverse  is  also  true,  for 
if  an  explosion  is  followed  by  a  doubtful  point,  the  next  test  with  lower 
drop  height  has  a  greater  probability  of  no  explosion. 

The  assumptions  that  a  doubtful  point  is  a  "no  explosion" ,  "explo- 
sion" or  "different  from  the  last  test"  all  lead  to  a  greater  possibility 
of  another  doubtful  point  for  the  second  succeeding  test.  The  technique 
of  repeating  a  doubtful  test  at  the  same  drop  height  would  alter  the 
statistical  pattern. 

3.  After  twenty  tests  have  been  recorded,  the  run  continues  until 
the  next  change,  either  no  explosion  or  explosion.  This  provides  a  rule 
for  ending  the  run  in  a  logical  fashion.  In  the  ideal  run,  all  of  the 
no  explosion  points  would  be  five  centimeters  below  the  explosion  points 
and  no  problem  would  exist. 


The  actual  runs  differ  in  that,  there  is  a  greater  differential 
between  the  100$  and  the  0$  points  so  that  a  doubt  exists  at  the  end  of 
the  run  as  to  the  effect  of  another  test.  If  the  run  stops  at  a  change 
between  explosion  or  no  explosion,  it  requires  at  least  two  more  tests 
to  make  any  appreciable  effect  on  the  run. 

These  rules  have  been  found  to  be  helpful  for  they  provide  positive 
decisions  in  cases  where  some  doubt  may  exist. 

Another  concept  is  necessary  in  interpreting  the  data.  If  an  explo- 
sion occurred  at  50  centimeters  for  a  certain  test,  it  is  assumed  that 
the  explosion  would  also  have  occurred  at  any  higher  point  since  the 
impact  would  be  greater.  Also  if  no  explosion  occurred  at  45  cm  for 
another  test,  it  is  assumed  that  no  explosion  would  occur  at  any  lower 
point  since  the  impact  would  be  less.  If  the  data  are  organized  in  this 
fashion  with  drop  heights  vertically  charted  and  the  test  numbers  hori- 
zontally charted,  this  extra  information  obtained  by  these  assumptions 
can  be  added  and  the  percent  probability  for  explosion  at  any  height 
ascertained. 

This  method  is  illustrated  in  Figure  3  with  "E"  representing  an 
actual  explosion  and  "N"  representing  an  actual  no  explosion.  The  assumed 
explosions  are  represented  be  "e"  and  the  assumed  no  explosions  by  "n". 
From  this  illustration  the  height  at  which  the  percent  probability  of 
explosion  is  50$  can  be  obtained.  This  can  be  seen  to  be  63  centimeters 
by  plotting  drop  height  versus  percent  explosion.  (See  Fig.  4).  The 
assumed  points  have  aided  the  test  results  in  that  the  number  of  tests 
considered  is  79,  instead  of  22  and  the  assumed  points  are  probably  as 
accurate  as  the  actual  points. 

15 


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16 


The  value  of  the  assumed  points  can  be  further  demonstrated  by 
Figure  5.  On  this  chart,  the  tests  of  Figure  3  have  been  repeated  and 
no  assumed  points  added.  The  data  obtained  are  contradictory  and  rela- 
tively useless,  while  the  resulting  curve  Figure  6  is  impossible.  Thus 
in  order  to  obtain  usable  results,  the  method  must  contain  the  "assumed 
point"  concept. 

An  additional  refinement  is  used  in  this  report.  The  percent  proba- 
bility is  plotted  versus  drop  height  on  probability  paper  instead  of  nor- 
mal rectangular  graph  paper.  This  enables  one  to  draw  the  best  straight 
line  through  the  plotted  points  and  obtain  the  $0%   point  (See  Fig.  7). 
The  result  does  not  differ  significantly  in  the  50$  point  being  65 
instead  of  63  centimeters. 

The  main  advantage  of  the  probability  paper  is  that  the  slope  of 
the  line  is  a  direct  index  of  the  variable  character  of  the  material. 
Furthermore,  the  variation  from  the  normal  probability  can  easily  be 
seen.  This  deviation  is  in  the  form  of  an  "S"  shaped  curve  when  plotted 
on  probability  paper. 

The  best  straight  line  method  is  used  here  since  the  deviation  from 
the  normal  probability  is  slight  and  the  observed  standard  deviation  can 
be  expressed  as  the  number  of  centimeters  between  the  fifty  percent 
point  (FPP)  and  the%83.3  percent  point.  The  run  can  then  be  described 
by  the  FPP  and  the  OSD  expressing  both  the  sensitivity  and  the  expected 
variability. 

However  as  stated  in  the  introduction,  it  is  felt  that  a  commen- 
surate return  should  be  expected  for  any  number  of  tests,  and  the  number 

17 


U.  S.  NAVAL  POSTGRADUATE  SCHOOL 


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existing  extremes  of  extremely  accurate  points  and  the  length  of  time 
involved  in  making  one  run,  which  is  approximately  two  hours. 


20 


EXPERIMENTAL  PROCEDURE 

Before  comparing  the  impact  sensitivities  of  explosive  mixtures 
an  investigation  was  made  upon  the  sensitivity  of  varying  amounts  of 
material.  The  discovery  was  made  that  there  is  a  most  sensitive  amount 
of  an  explosive.  This  has  not  been  reported  in  the  literature  and  is 
considered  to  be  an  important  contribution. 

The  most  sensitive  amount  of  both  TNB  and  TNT  is  approximately 
23+  1  milligrams.  The  lower  amounts  are  less  sensitive  because  the 
explosive  layer  is  thinner  and  since  it  is  spread  on  garnet  paper,  the 
garnet  grains  are  large  enough  to  absorb  an  appreciable  part  of  the 
shock.  The  greater  amounts  are  also  less  sensitive,  but  this  is  due  to 
a  dilution  factor.  The  impact  is  divided  among  more  particles  of  explo- 
sive, making  less  the  probability  of  any  one  particle  absorbing  enough 
energy  to  explode. 

This  could  perhaps  be  thought  of  as  the  energy  to  cause  explosion 
by  impact  expressed  in  calories  per  mol.  This  energy  for  pure  TNT  is 
30+  .5  kilocalories  per  gram  mol  as  computed  for  the  50$  point  while 
the  energy  of  activation  for  TNT  calculated  from  curves  in  reference  4 
was  approximately  38.3  kilocalories  per  gram  mol.  These  results  are  of 
the  same  order  of  magnitude  and  if  the  100$  point  was  used  in  the  cal- 
culation for  the  energy  of  impact  instead  of  the  50$  point,  the  calcu- 
lated energy  would  be  34.5+  »5  kilocalories  per  gram  mol. 

After  the  most  sensitive  amounts  of  the  two  explosives  had  been 
found,  (See  Figs.  S  and  9),  the  influence  of  large  amounts  of  foreign 
was  investigated.  Runs  were  made  on  mixtures  of  chalk  with  each 

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explosive.  In  these  tests,  the  amount  of  mixture  used  for  each  test  was 
determined  by  the  most  sensitive  amount  of  material  found  in  the  pre- 
vious series  of  runs.  This  was  23  milligrams,  so  the  tests  were  all 
made  using  this  amount  of  mixture. 

The  results  from  the  second  series  of  runs  (See  Figs.  10  and  11), 
were  of  the  nature  of  dilution  alone,  that  is  the  sensitivity  decreased 
in  a  reasonable  manner  up  to  the  highest  point  of  drop  height  available. 
An  interesting  facet  of  these  results  was  that  the  TNB  apparently  is 
more  affected  by  dilution  than  the  TNT. 

The  third  series  of  tests  in  which  TNB  and  TNT  were  mixed  and  the 
mixture  sensitivity  studied  show  an  interesting  trend.  The  sensitivity 
of  the  mixture  is  above  that  of  the  TNT  until  15%   of  the  material  is  TNB 
(See  Fig.  12).  In  no  case  did  the  sensitivity  of  the  mixture  become 
lower  than  that  of  the  TNB.  This  shows  that  the  effect  of  the  TNB  upon 
the  TNT  and  vice  versa  is  considerably  more  than  dilution. 

This  curve  exhibits  the  same  characteristics  as  some  melting  point 
curves  in  which  a  eutectic  is  formed.  The  explanation  may  be  found  in 
considering  it  from  the  viewpoint  of  Bowden  and  Yoffe  (Ref.  1).  In 
their  investigation,  evidence  of  the  thermal  effect  of  impact  as  the 
initiating  agent  was  brought  out.  The  presence  of  hot  spots,  formed 
under  these  conditions  seems  likely  as  do  the  explosions  resulting  from 
them. 

A  possible  explanation  of  the  increasing  sensitivity  of  the  TNB- 
TNT  mixture  probably  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  melting  point  of  the 
mixture  is  lowered  in  a  similar  fashion.  Since  the  hot  spot  formation 
will  be  in  a  material  of  lower  melting  point,  the  temperature  rise 

24 


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the  melting  point  of  this  material.  Correspondingly  there  will  be  a 
greater  amount  of  energy  available  for  the  liquid. 


28 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


1.  Bowden,  F.P.  and 
Yoffe,  A.D. 


Initiation  and  Growth  of  Explosion  in 
Liquids  and  Solids,  Cambridge  University- 
Press  (1952) 


2.  Davis,  T.L. 


3.  Clift,  G.D.   and 
Fedoroff,  B.T. 

4.  Robinson,  C.S. 


5.     O'hart,  T.C. 


6.  Eyring,  H.,  Powell,  R.E. 
Duffy,  G.H.  and 
Parlin,  R.B. 


The  Chemistry  of  Powder  and  Explosives, 
Wiley  &  Sons,  Inc.  (1943) 

Explosive  Compounds  and  Allied  Substances, 
Lefax  Soc,  Inc.  (1943) 

Explosions,  Their  Anatomy  and  Destruc- 
tiveness,  McGraw-Hill  (1944) 

Elements  of  Ammunition,  Wiley  &  Sons,  Inc. 
(1946) 

The  Stability  of  Detonation,  Chemical 
Reviews,  (Aug.  1949) 


29 


APPENDIX 

The  auxilliary  equipment  is  pictured  in  figure  13  (The  Ro-Tap 
Machine)  and  Figure  Ik  (The  Altos  Powder  Measure  and  the  Fisher-Kendall 
Mixer). 

Two  typical  runs  have  been  included.     Figure  15  is  a  chart  of  a 
typical  high  O.S.D.   (Observed  Standard  Deviation)  run  with  its  proba- 
bility plot  on  Figure  16.     Figure  17  is  a  chart  of  a  typical  low  O.S.D 
run  with  its  probability  plot  on  Figure  18. 

The  chart,  Figure  19,   summarizes  the  work  of  the  project. 


30 


Fig. 13      The   Ro-Tap 
31 


Fig. 14  The  Mixer  and  Powder  Measure 


12 


U.  S.  NAVAL  POSTGRADUATE  SCHOOL 


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y,o 

;/ 

35 

/ 

30 

,/ 

25 

/ 

70 

/ 

/ 

/ 

sJ 

y 

rig.  17 


Drop 

Height 

°^05 

100 

X 

95 

90. 

< 

50$  pt 

-  97  cm 


0  10  20  30  40  50  60  70  80  90  100 


35 


CD 
o 


3   — 


r 
C 


rv. 


E 

o 


Ci 


*j-  o 


f— 


J- 


-    .  L. 


-00 


o 

i 
1QD 


I? 


{O 
tVfj 

■-2 


40 

io 


O 


^ 


iC\{ 


.""> 


0 
CL 


0D 


0^ 


o 


o 


-IT 

5 


a 

o  • 


JO 


a 


36 


Run  No 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
H 

15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 


Date  Sample 

12/29/55  TNT  CP  Powdered 
it       it     ii       ti        it  it 

tt       it     n        ti        it  it 


1/4/56 
•1/4/56 
1/4/56 
1/11/56 
1/11/56 
1/11/56 
1/16/56 
1/18/56 
3/02/56 
3/13/56 
3/14/56 
3/14/56 
3/15/56 
3/15/56 
3/15/56 
3/16/56 
3/20/56 
3/20/56 
3/20/56 
3/28/56 
3/28/56 


it       ii 


TNB  CP  Powdered 


TNB  CP  Ground  thru  120  screen 

TNT  CP  Powdered 

50$  TNB(T  120)-50$  chalk 

75$  TNB(T  12)-25$  chalk 

TNT  CP  Ground  thru  120  screen 

87$  TNB  -13*  chalk 

66.7*  TNB  -33.3$  chalk 

50$  TNT(T  120)-50$  chalk 

75$  TNT(T  120)-25$  chalk 

60$  TNB(T  120)-40$  chalk 

40$  TNB(T  120)  60$  chalk 

35$  TNT(T  120)  65$  chalk 

50$  TNB(T  120)-50$  TNT(T  120) 


Size 

FPP 

OSD 

Remarks 

6  mg 

119.5cm 

13cm 

13.5mg 

81.5 

10 

33 

64.5 

7 

60 

82.5 

8 

13 

83.5 

10 

7 

122 

19 

36 

73 

5 

56 

97 

3 

38 

82.5 

7 

Repeat  of  7 

40 

81.5 

10 

Repeat  of  9 

23 

67.5 

7 

23 

61 

5.5 

21 

59 

4.5 

23 

- 

- 

No  expl.  to 
150  cm 

23 

116 

8 

23 

52 

4 

23 

69 

17 

23' 

95 

4 

23 

97 

11 

23 

66 

1 

23 

138 

23 

- 

- 

- 

Not  run 

23 

56 

8 

23 

46 

9 

37 


Run  No         Date  <?„„,  t 

^^  ^  l»  OSD     Remarks 

25  3/29/56       75%  TNB(T  120)-25*  TNT(T  120)  23  45      -  8 

26  3/29/56       25$  TNB(T  120)-75*  TNT(T  120)  23  47  ? 


27  3/30/56      90S  TOB(T  120)-1Q#  TNT(T  120)        23 


53  11 


38